Editorial: Under new management

Disney gives EA exclusive rights to make games set in a galaxy far, far away. Anton Wegenast speculates, and has a new hope for the return of the Jedi

Will 1313 see a revived development?

EA has announced their partnership with Disney to make games set in the Star Wars universe. The publisher posted the news on their blog that development will begin shortly. This is huge news for sci-fi action fans the world over.

After Disney closed downLucasArts’s internal development studio, many wondered if the Star Wars franchise would be stuck in limbo. It’s good to see that someone has picked up the reins so quickly. EA also announced that three of its studios would be tasked with creating games: DICE, Visceral, and BioWare. BioWare is already responsible forStar Wars: The Old Republic, so it is unclear if the developer will continue to produce content for the MMORPG or if a new title will begin development. Personally, I’m hoping for a new single-player Knights of the Old Republic game, or an RPG of that style.

So what else does EA have in store for fans? No specific titles were announced, but EA assured, “These imaginative teams will make games that may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories.” The announcement also mentioned that the Frostbite 3 engine would be featured in upcoming titles.

No one knows Frostbite 3 better than DICE, the developer that created the engine themselves. This also leads to speculation that a new Battlefront title may be developed, given DICE’s history with the Battlefield series. I couldn’t be happier if this were to be announced, as the series still holds a place in this fan’s heart.

The real wild card is whatVisceral will get up to. The developer is best known for their work on the Dead Space series. So perhaps an action adventure game set in the Star Wars universe is likely. It may even be possible that Visceral will pick up development of Star Wars 1313, as the game was cancelled when LucasArts was liquidated. 1313 promised to portray a darker vision of George Lucas‘s universe, and to focus on the use of gadgets and blasters, as opposed to Force abilities and lightsabers. It would not be too far a stretch for Visceral to handle a gritty third-person sci-fi game like 1313.

In the end, I’m glad to hear that Star Wars is being talked about, and is in the hands of developers again. It’s now up to EA to put their mark on the video game industry and deliver some quality products. As the first outsourced Star Wars games start to hit shelves sometime in the future, the developers will certainly have big shoes to fill, and perhaps some astronomical expectations from a rabid fanbase.